Review of "Introduction to Global Military History: 1775 to the Present Day, Second Edition," by Jeremy Black

 Review of

Introduction to Global Military History: 1775 to the Present Day, Second Edition, by Jeremy Black, ISBN 9780415629201

Five out of five stars

Mention of many largely ignored wars.

 The best thing about this book is that it covers conflicts that are generally ignored, the most depressing thing is that there are so many of them. One chapter is devoted to each of the world wars, fourteen pages covering World War I and 34 pages covering World War II. Of course, this means that the coverage of both is only superficial.

 The start date coincides with the outbreak of the revolution of the American colonies against Great Britain. The French revolution and the rise and fall of Napolean are covered. What was impressive was that there are several pages devoted to conflicts in Asia during this time frame. The Russian Empire was engaged in expansion to both the south and east. China engaged in conflicts with her southern neighbors and there was a continuation of the nearly constant internal fighting. There is even a mention of the war between the Ottoman Empire and Persia from 1774 to 1779.

 In the chapter called “Empires Rise and Fall,” there are several pages devoted to conflicts outside of Europe. There were wars of expansion conducted by Egypt, battles in India, Vietnam, and battles between groups in what was still an independent Africa.

 Since there is at least a brief mention of so many conflicts that are rarely part of a historical study, what I have used this book for is as a pointer to additional information about the small wars that took place in nearly every place in the world. Before the Europeans invaded and took control of almost all of Africa, the states that existed often fought each other.

 The chapter that I found most interesting is chapter 10, “Wars Between Non-Western Powers.” While the main conflicts were those between Israel and the Arab States and the Iran-Iraq war, there is mention of the battles between and within Latin American states. The significance of the war between Iran and Iraq is rarely mentioned, even though estimates are that over 2 million soldiers participated in the war and many as a half a million may have been killed.

 If you are looking for a book that will cover wars in detail, then this one is not for you. However, if you are interested in a book that has a mention of almost all significant conflicts in the world since 1775, this is a book that you will want to read.

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